The Best Cinematic Universes Before Marvel’s
In the wake of the unprecedented success that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seemed as though nearly every major studio in Hollywood was instantly eager to replicate what Marvel Studios had achieved in the culmination of their 22+ films. Studios now actively seek to create their own cinematic universes, ranging from the DC Extended Universe, to the MonsterVerse, The Conjuring Universe, and even now with sprouting up-and-comers such as Sony’s Marvel Universe and Lionsgate’s John Wick Universe. Everyone wants a piece of that shared universe action. However, while Marvel Studios may have ignited this trend and coined the term, they actually weren’t the first studio to build a cinematic universe. This form of worldbuilding in film predates that of the MCU by decades, in an array of smaller-scale and lower budget film universes that have maintained generally good quality and ran for roughly 20–30 years. Some of them even live on to this day, either as a direct continuation with new entries, some reimagined form, or a spiritual successor. Here are some of the best precursors to grace the cinemas.
Universal Monsters Universe (1931–1960)
Starting with what could be seen as the “OG” of cinematic universes, the Universal Monsters Universe has birthed some of cinema’s biggest horror icons and in the process featured various monster clashes and crossovers. Much of the early success of the “UMU” can be attributed to Carl Laemmle Jr., who could perhaps be considered the “Kevin Feige” of this film universe to some degree, and even something of an unsung hero of horror cinema. When he took over Universal Pictures from his father in 1926, he set out to shift the studio’s focus towards horror films as he loved the horror genre. Carl was the one who encouraged Universal to take a chance on Dracula and Frankenstein. His father believed he was crazy, and all his advisors told him not to give these movies the greenlight. Pretty much everyone at Universal were against these films. See, this move by Laemmle Jr. was considered a huge gamble at the time because there was an uncertainty that audiences would be enticed by “pure horror” (i.e. no comedic overtones or twist ending revealing the supernatural threat to be a hoax). Of course as we all know this was a gamble that paid off as both Dracula and Frankenstein were a hit with audiences.
Over the years Universal would continue making other monster movies in the same vein like The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Werewolf of London (1935), Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1939), and The Wolf Man (1941). Then in 1943, Universal released their first official crossover movie, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.
From then onwards they continued to build towards bigger crossovers with films like The House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945), as well as a series of Abbott & Costello crossovers. They would even add some new monsters to their classic lineup late in the game, most notably the Gill Man in Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954).
But make no mistake about it, these monster movies were conceived at different times by different filmmakers and were not initially meant to co-exist. The crossovers only occurred after a series of mediocre sequels basically turned these monsters into comedic figures, and the crossovers themselves generally feel more like parodies of the earlier (and superior) solo films; the ones that are still remembered and have stood the test of time. Nonetheless the legacy of the Universal Monsters cannot be denied.
And to address the elephant in the room, yes, Universal notably attempted to reboot the Universal Monsters Universe for a modern audience in the form of the ‘Dark Universe’ via The Mummy (2017), and even a little earlier with Dracula Untold (2014), neither attempt quite panning out as planned. But still, if anyone besides Marvel and DC had a “right” to make their own cinematic universe in a Post-MCU world, it was Universal.
However, if there is but one silver lining to this failed revival, it’s that the Universal Monsters will at least live on through Blumhouse Productions. Following The Mummy fizzling out at the box office, Universal brokered an arrangement with Blumhouse wherein their classic monsters would be rebooted once more, albeit this time with more focus on horror and as pure standalone films. While still in its’ very early stages, it seems as though Blumhouse will be bringing new life to these monsters. Their first film The Invisible Man (2020) was widely seen as a comeback for the Universal Monsters on the big screen. Karyn Kusama will be directing a Dracula reboot that aims to be closer to the Stoker novel, and Dexter Fletcher will be directing a Dracula spinoff following Dracula’s ‘familiar’ Renfield. Ryan Gosling is set to star in a Wolf Man reboot tonally akin to Nightcrawler (2014). James Wan is working on a currently unspecified “Frankenstein’s-Monster-type” of horror movie. And Paul Feig is working on a monster mashup intriguingly titled ‘Dark Army.’ Variety has described this as a “fresh strategy for Universal’s Monsters properties, bringing creative directors with distinctive visions to the classic characters.” And frankly so far it’s looking to be that way.
Toho Shōwa Universe [Shōwa Era of Godzilla] (1954–1975)
While audiences and fans eagerly await the MonsterVerse’s upcoming Godzilla Vs. Kong, let us take a moment to look back at what could be considered the “original” MonsterVerse, the Toho Shōwa Universe.
Produced by Toho Studios, a production company in Japan, the Shōwa-Era Godzilla films (called so in reference to Emperor Shōwa) not only birthed one of cinema’s most iconic movie monsters but also formed one of the earliest shared universes in film history. Their first film, Godzilla (1954) introduced the icon and the concept of ‘Kaiju’ (Japanese term for “strange creature”), while subsequent films like Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Rodan (1956), Varan the Unbelievable (1958), and Mothra (1961) established that other Kaijus existed beyond him. It even had its’ own Godzilla-Kong mashup in 1962, with the Toho version of King Kong reimagining him to be more “compatible” with Godzilla by increasing his size and giving him power over electricity (and the MonsterVerse’s version of Kong also seems to seems to be aiming for added abilities for a fairer fight).
And soon after the Toho Universe had two more crossovers in Mothra vs Godzilla (1964), and in it’s first “Avengers-level” crossover which saw Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan join forces to to protect the Earth in Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964).
And it just kept expanding from there, even using Frankenstein’s Monster from Universal’s monster lineup in Frankenstein Conquers The World (1965) [also making him more “compatible” with Toho’s monsters], and with various other Kaiju ensembles such as Invasion of The Astro Monster (1965), Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), and one last mega ensemble Destroy All Monsters (1968) which saw Godzilla and nearly every Kaiju from the series fight Ghidorah once more.
Following that the these films shifted focus solely to Godzilla, giving him new monsters to fight with each entry, and concluding with Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). The Shōwa-Era towards the end of its’ run I felt became just a bit too ludicrous even for a universe centered around giant monsters, removing pretty much all the atomic warfare commentary from Godzilla in exchange for turning him into basically a superhero. Although even the “sillier” Godzilla films can still be enjoyed if you’re simply looking for a Kaiju smackdown.
Most of the success of the Toho Shōwa Universe is owed to “The Soul of Godzilla,” famed Godzilla creator and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who directed and/or produced most of these films, essentially filling the role Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, and the Russo Brothers all at once. It was Honda’s experiences with the unsettling power of nuclear weapons that influenced him to create Godzilla and in turn basically all Kaijus. Without him the Godzilla mythology and Kaiju sub genre wouldn’t exist.
The Toho Universe has been rebooted several times since then, usually keeping the 1954 Godzilla film as its’ ‘official’ starting point and with a much heavier focus on Godzilla in particular, in the forms of the Heisei Era of Godzilla (Heisei meaning “peace everywhere”), the Millennium Era (which doesn’t follow a set continuity except for Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.), and of course most recently in its’ American counterpart the MonsterVerse, this time taking much of its’ “worldbuilding cues” from the MCU. And quite interestingly, despite Legendary and Warner Bros taking the reigns of Godzilla & Co, Toho has plans to reboot the Toho Universe on their own once more in the aptly named “World of Godzilla” in the near future after Godzilla Vs. Kong. How the World of Godzilla will fare in contrast to its’ predecessors remains to be seen, though few film franchises have had the longevity and staying power of Godzilla and seen so many reimaginings.
TarantinoVerse (1987-Present)
According to Quentin Tarantino himself, nearly all of his movies take place in the same universe, with the official/unofficial starting point being a short film titled My Best Friend’s Birthday (1987) which can be found online. But beyond that, Tarantino’s films aren’t just part of one shared universe — they are part of two. In an Interview with The Project Tarantino has stated,
“There are actually two separate universes. There is the realer than real universe, alright, and all the characters inhabit that one. But then there’s this ‘movie’ universe. So From Dusk Till Dawn, Kill Bill, they all take place in this special movie universe. So when all the characters of Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, when they go to the movies, Kill Bill is what they go to see. From Dusk Till Dawn is what they see.”
So not only do his films contain a shared universe, but also a ‘universe within a universe.’ Films like Pulp Fiction (1994) exist in the “real” world while the more ‘over-the-top’ films like Kill Bill exist in the “movie” universe. From what I can tell this also includes True Romance (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994) which were not directed by Tarantino but were written by him, but does not include Jackie Brown (1997) or Sin City (2005) (of which Tarantino was a guest director), as these were adaptations from existing source material.
But the TarantinoVerse extends even beyond films which he was personally involved in as at a 2012 Comic Con Panel he revealed that Broomhilda Von Shaft, a character from Django Unchained (2012) is an ancestor of John Shaft (or at least canonically to him).
“Her and Django will eventually have a baby,” he explains, “And then that baby will have a baby, and that baby will have a baby, and that baby will have a baby, and that baby will have a baby … and one of these days, John Shaft will be born. John Shaft started with this lady here and this man here.”
So if you accept his explanation as ‘head-canon,’ technically the TarantinoVerse’s starting point is Shaft (1971).
And while these films don’t directly cross over, it is worth noting that at one point Tarantino had planned a crossover prequel film titled The Vega Brothers, starring Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) from Reservoir Dogs and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) from Pulp Fiction. It ultimately never materialized as Tarantino felt the actors were too old to star in a prequel.
Nonetheless, this hasn’t stopped him from alluding to the interconnectedness of his films via subtle nods and easter eggs, the most famous of which being the fictional Red Apple Cigarette’s brand.
But what truly sets this film universe apart from our world is its’ own established history that differs from actual history- and of course it’s gratuitous violence. Very minor spoilers for Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), but certain real-life historical events play out differently in these movies than how they actually did. It is believed that the different history in Inglorious Basterds in particular changed the whole mindset of the culture, and made the general populace overall much more accepting of violence and more in favor of it. This is why Quentin’s real-world films are hyper-violent as the characters in his universe are attuned to a far more violent reality. As a result the films they watch such as the Kill Bill duology reflect the increased violence of their reality and so the “in-films” are even more insane and gratuitously violent. So naturally Tarantino’s universe (and general filmmaking “style”) isn’t for everyone.
But regardless of personal taste the TarantinoVerse has maintained an overall good quality throughout its’ run, possessing a track record that rivals even that of Marvel Studios. However, this universe will have a shorter lifespan than most others, as Tarantino has stated that he will (likely) only direct a total of 10 films in his career (he considers Kill Bill Vol 1&2 to be one movie split in two, and it was originally only going be one movie), and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was marketed as his 9th film. This implies he will direct one more movie before he retires from the director’s chair, which will presumably also be the last entry in the TarantinoVerse, or at least the last entry with him directing it. Hopefully whatever his final film will be will serve not only as a good sendoff to the TarantinoVerse, but to Tarantino’s entire filmmaking career.
View Askewniverse (1994–Present)
Kevin Smith is pretty popular among comic fans thanks to his work with Marvel Comics and DC Comics, but he doesn’t get nearly the amount of recognition he should for creating a viable comic-influenced shared film universe long before it was mainstream. Forming ‘View Askew Productions’ and starting with Clerks (1994), a small film about the mundane life of a store clerk that became a cult classic, the Smith-directed series came to include Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! (2013), and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). It also has other tie-in material such as as Clerks: The Animated Series (2000–2002), and various comic titles- a Clerks comic series, Bluntman and Chronic, Chasing Dogma, and Walt Flanagan’s Dog. Together, these works all form the ‘View Askewniverse,’ taking place in the same area of New Jersey and featuring many of the same characters, most notably Jay and Silent Bob in various cameos throughout the series and in their own movies.
In an interview with Wired Autocomplete Kevin Smith revealed the inspiration behind the View Askewniverse to be Marvel Comics (go figure). He explains,
“In the beginning of my career, I was real into the idea of universe-building. I stole that idea from Marvel Comics…Why should every story stand apart? I like the idea of crossovers. As a comic-book kid, that appealed to me, so I put it deep into my movies as well.”
Granted, this “indie film universe” hasn’t really had any ‘MCU-type’ of crossovers, though you could view Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back as the ‘Avengers’ of the series since pretty much every major character from the prior films reappear.
Despite fewer entries in more recent years, the View Askewniverse is still very much active, with upcoming films like Clerks 3 and Twilight of The Mallrats in development. These films are also apparently moving forward even more in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with one of the scripts even being finished. How the View Askewniverse continues to grow will certainly be an interesting journey to follow, especially since moving forward Kevin Smith’s filmmaking career will primarily consist of View Askewniverse sequels.